Tennis

Players ousted from states

1st round losses end tennis season

It was a quick trip to the state singles and doubles tournaments for area tennis players last weekend.

Conant junior No. 1 Allina Bennett and Wilton-Lyndeborough freshman No. 1 Maddy Bacon both made the initial draw for the singles tournament. And after a player withdrew following the release of the pairings, Conant junior Courtney Dillon was added to the field of 32 for the girls tournament.

Bennett and Dillon, the Orioles’ top doubles team, made the doubles tournament along with Conant’s No. 2 doubles pairing of freshman Shannon Bennett and sophomore Ashley Rogers.

But their tournament runs ended after just one match.

On Saturday, Allina Bennett lost to the No. 2 overall seed, Sunday Swett of Bow 8-1. During the regular season, Bennett posted an 8-5 record. In Conant’s two playoff matches, Bennett dropped both matches and with Saturday’s loss in the singles tournament she finished 8-8.

Dillon, who filled in to play No. 6 Kenzie Rhodes of Portsmouth, lost her singles tournament debut, 8-1. She was also 8-5 during Conant’s regular season run that earned the Orioles the No. 3 seed in Division III. Dillon lost both of her playoff matches and finished 8-8 overall.

Bacon fell to Exeter’s Katie Wood 8-2 in first round action. Bacon played on the team as a seventh grader and filled the No. 2 position and then after a year away, she filled the No. 1 position for the Warriors and Bacon went 6-4.

In the doubles tournament on Sunday, Allina Bennett and Dillon lost 8-1 to Bishop Brady’s Madeline Moran and Shelby Herrington to finish the year with a record of 10-4 overall. Bennett and Dillon were 10-2 in the regular season before falling in a tiebreak in the Orioles’ first round playoff win.

Shannon Bennett and Rogers fell 8-1 to the Londonderry team of Cassie Burbine and Amanda DePasquale, the No. 4 ranked team in the tournament. Bennett and Rogers did not begin the season as doubles partners, but were paired together early in the year and went 7-2 in the regular season.